Why does John tell Cissy to baptise her pistol?
In , John appears to Cissy and reveals her most painful secret -- that she jerked off her son Butchie when he was 13. John tells Cissy that he wants her to live: Keep going, feeling just as miserable, or worse. Hold the gun under the spigot and turn the water on. Spare Shaun finding you dead in the kitchen -- and as a bonus, you'll also receive: his love. Act now, Cissy! Baptise that fuckin' pistol!" *This just makes me think about trudging through all the hardships of life, and despite everything, it's worth it. Go on being just as miserable, or worse, but you'll receive LOVE. Bgkarma 17:50, 22 July 2007 (UTC) *Baptism is done to absolve Catholics of Original Sin. Perhaps this is John's way of helping Cissy symbolically ""wash away the sin"" of considering killing herself, and perhaps open her up to forgiving her other sins. GCord52 02:30, 24 July 2007 (UTC) *Lets not forget that Cissie used this pistol to try to shoot John. Her suicidal impulse changed to a homicidal one. Tomamil 23:29, 28 July 2007 (UTC) *I think it's more of a figurative thing. Cissy actually runs the water and baptises the pistol, but I think the pistol represents Cissy's anger and rage, and John asks her to baptise it, or in other words stop trying to control what she can't / give it to God. Grakehillz 02:04, 30 July 2007 (UTC) *Before this scene, John is sitting in the truck with Bill and Vietnam Joe. He suddenly says "Better she should try to kill me and fail than try to kill herself." Then he falls asleep (or into a trance). So, obviously, he's making a supernatural appearance to intervene in a life-and-death situation. Does he really appear to Cissy physically? Or does he just project himself into her mind? MyDogHasFleas 14:55, 31 July 2007 (UTC) *This scene was highly intense and meaningful to me, as I have personal history of sexual abuse similar to their situation from my childhood decades ago. I too have "felt like killing myself every day of my life and didn't even know it." After seeing this scene I was able to reveal my fear of harming myself, and my anger at my abuser, directly to my therapist. This is both big, and huge, for me. MyDogHasFleas 14:55, 31 July 2007 (UTC) *Baptizing the pistol is clearly symbolic, as running a pistol under water doesn't actually disable it. You baptize people to symbolize their birth or entry into faith. Why would you baptize a pistol rather than a person? Maybe the pistol has now become an object of faith for Cissy -- faith that she should keep going, feeling just as miserable, or worse... because the alternative is the worst of all. MyDogHasFleas 14:55, 31 July 2007 (UTC) *If you want to see this scene, go to johnmonad.com and type Baptize into the search box. MyDogHasFleas 14:58, 31 July 2007 (UTC) *The word Baptism, from Greek βαπτίζω (baptízô), primarily means so submerge or to bury. The act of baptism is one that is long rooted in both Hebrew and Christian tradition. But, I want to add another understanding to the word which is not commonly known. The word baptism is the ancient near east cultures carried a very violent and tragic tone. When a ship sunk at sea, the event would be described as a vessel was baptized into the deep. The word first became popular in the process of pickling. A cucumber was baptized into a jar of vinegar. The Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott, gives the primary meaning of the word βαπτίζω, from which the English word baptism is derived, as dip, or plunge. In a religious context the water represents a grave, one being submerged, a symbolic representation of going into the grave (dying) and being brought back out (born anew and different) without the sin they went in with. In other ancient near east history objects / sacrifices are baptized by fire, completely immersed by fire. Cissy may be choosing to turn over a new leaf and allow her old life or past to die. The pistol may just me a symbol of her inner self, releasing everything to the process of change. --Zeteo 20:51, 5 August 2007 (UTC) Category:Theories